Hockey game with magnetic control members

ABSTRACT

Game apparatus utilizes player pieces and control members which have disposed therein multipolar magnets of circular crosssection having at least four alternately arranged regions of opposite polarity circumferentially positioned thereabout, and which are slidably operable upon a nonferrous playing board with their axes extending perpendicular to the playing surface of the board. The magnet in the player piece is annular and the player piece has a downwardly extending contact element provided by a stud on the base portion of the player piece which extends through the central aperture of the magnet and therebelow to provide limited contact between the body of the player piece and the playing surface of the board. The striking portion of the player piece extends laterally outwardly from the base portion in contact with the upper surface of the board and the player piece is supported upon the contact element and the striking portion. The striking portion desirably comprises an elongated arm extending laterally along the upper surface of the playing board and it has a flared configuration adjacent its free end provided by wing portions which extend outwardly from each side of the arm and which define curvilinear striking surfaces diverging from one another and increasing in curvature towards the free end to control the direction of an object propelled thereby. Interaction between the magnets of a player piece and of a control member through the playing board enables sliding and sharp pivoting movement of the player piece upon the game board, upon manipulation of the control member therebelow.

United States Patent 1191. Kobayashi Jan.'15,'1974 1 HOCKEY GAME WlTl-lMAGNETIC CONTROL MEMBERS [75] Inventor: Takanori William Kobayashi,

Roxboro, Quebec, Canada [73] Assignee: Coleco Industries, Inc.,Hartford,

Conn.

122 Filed: July 26,1971

1211 Appl. No.: 166,189

[52] US. Cl. 273/85 B, 46/240, 273/1 M,

310/103, 273/129 [51] Int. Cl. A63f 9/00 [58] Field of Search 273/85 F,85 R, 85 AB,

, 273/94 F, 94 R, 94 A, 94 B, 1 M, 67 A; 4 46/240; 310/103 [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,655,379 lO/l953 Miller 46/240 X2,249,454 7/1941 Brake 273/1 M UX Primary Examiner-Richard C. PinkhamAssistant Examiner-Paul E. Shapiro Attorney-Peter L. Costas [57]ABSTRACT Game apparatus utilizes player pieces and control members whichhave disposed therein multipolar magnets of circular cross-sectionhaving at least four alternately arranged regions of opposite polaritycircumferentially positioned thereabout, and which are slidably operableupon a nonferrous playing board with their axes extending perpendicularto the playing surface of the board. The magnet in the player piece isannular and the player piece has a downwardly extending contact elementprovided by a stud on the base portion of the player piece which extendsthrough the central aperture of the magnet and therebelow to providelimited contact between the body of the player piece and the playingsurface of the board. The striking portion of the player piece extendslaterally outwardly from the base portion in contact 1 with the uppersurface of the board and the player piece is supported upon thecontactelement and the striking portion. The striking portion desirablycomprises an elongated arm extending laterally along the upper surfaceof the playing board and it has a flared configuration adjacent its freeend provided by wing portions which extend outwardly from each side ofthe arm and which define curvilinear striking surfaces diverging fromone another and increasing in curvature towards the free end to controlthe direction of an object propelled thereby. Interaction between themagnets of a player piece and of a control member through the playingboard enables sliding and sharp pivoting movement of the player pieceupon the game board, upon manipulation of the control member therebelow.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEHJAN I 51974 sum 1 m2 HOCKEY GAMEWITH MAGNETIC CONTROL MEMBERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Magneticinteraction has previously been employed in various games to effect andcontrol the movement of playing pieces upon a game board surface. Abruptmovement of the playing pieces and effective sharp or abrupt pivotingthereof by appropriate manipulation of a magnetic control member beneaththe playing area has been a problem in most, if not all, such priorgames due to limitations in the magnetic attraction. As will beappreciated, the ability to sharply pivot the playing pieces isespecially desirable in a toy baseball game to simulate batting, and ina toy hockey game to simulate striking the puck.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention toprovide novel game apparatus in which the playing pieces may be bothmoved abruptly and also pivoted sharply upon the upper surface of aplaying area by appropriate manipulation of a control membertherebeneath.

It is also an object of the invention to provide such apparatus whereinrotation .of a stationary playing piece upon initial interaction with amagnetic control member is minimized.

Anotherobject is to provide such apparatus which is relatively simpleand inexpensive to manufacture and which is relatively durable to afforda long useful life.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE It has now been found that the foregoing andrelated objects are readily attained in apparatus including a game boardmember having a relatively thin, substantially planar playing portionfabricated of nonferrous material and having means on the upper surfacethereof defining a playing area. Support means extending downwardly fromthe game board member may be provided to elevate thegame board memberabove a planar support surface, and to afford substantially unobstructedaccess to the bottom surface of the playing portion. A player piece isslidably seated upon the upper surface of the playing portion and has abase portion, a striking portion along the playing portion of the gameboard extending laterally, and a multiple permanent magnet havingtherein a multipicity of alternating regions of opposite polarity. Themagnet is so disposed in the base portion that magnetic flux lines fromeach of the regions of opposite polarity thereof intersect the uppersurface of the game board in a direction generally normal thereto. Acontrol member is also provided, and is slidably movable along thebottom surface of the playing portion. The control member comprises ahandle element and a multipole permanent magnet, which also has amultiplicity of alternating regions of opposite polarity and is disposedin the handle element with magnetic flux lines from each of theregionsintersecting the bottom surface in a direction generally normalthereto. The flux lines of the magnets of the control member and playerpiece extend through the game board playing portion and are alignable toprovide firm magnetic interengagement of the several poles thereof, withthe control member being slidable beneath the playing portion to movethe player piece therealong and being pivotable sharply to provide sharppivoting of the player piece upon the upper surface.

In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the

magnets are of generally circular cross section and have the regions ofpolarity circumferentially positioned thereabout. The axes of suchmagnets are perpendicular to the playing portion; preferably each of themagnets has four of such regions of polarity. It is especially desirablethat the player piece has a downwardly extending element with an end ofrelatively small surface area to space the body of said player piecefrom, and to provide limited contact with, the upper surface of theplaying portion. In such a case, the magnet of the player piece may beannular with the contact element being provided by the outer end of astud on the base portion projecting downwardly through the centralaperture of the magnet and therebelow. Most desirably, the strikingportion of the player piece extends laterally outwardly from the baseportion and is in contact with the upper surface of the playing portion,with the player piece being supported upon the contact element and thestriking portion thereof. The striking portion of the player piece maycomprise an elongated arm extending laterally along the upper surface ofthe playing portion from the base portion thereof, and may have a flaredconfiguration adjacent its free end provided by wing portions whichextend outwardly from each side of the arm along the upper surface, andwhich have curvilinear striking surfaces thereon. The striking surfacesdiverge from one another and increase in curvature toward the free endto control the direction of an object propelled thereby during play ofthe game. The playing area defining means on the playing portion maydesirably simulate hockey ice and may have goal structures positioned atopposite ends thereof to serve as targets fora puck member. In such anembodiment, the player piece will represent a hockey player and thestriking portion thereof will represent the bladeof a hockey stick. Thecombination will additionally include a disk-shaped puck member that isfreely slidable upon the upper surface of the playing portion bypropulsion through the blade, with sharp pivoting of .the hockey playerbeing for the purpose of propelling the puck member over the ice, as ina hockey shot. Mostdesirably, the game board member is fabricated of asynthetic thermoplastic resinous material. l

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of ahockey game embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, drawnto an enlarged scale and omitting various removable parts for clarity ofillustration;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the player piece and control handleillustrated in FIG. 2, and diagrammatically indicating the attractiveinteraction occurring therebetween;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with the player piece rotated todiagrammatically illustrate the repulsive interaction occurringtherebetween; I

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view, to an enlarged-scale, of theplayer piece and control handle of FIGS. 2-4;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the base of the player piecealong the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;.and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the annular magnets shown in FIG. 5,drawn to a further enlarged scale and designating the regions ofpolarity thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Turning now in detailto the appended drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a hockey gameapparatus embodying the present invention and including a rectangulargame board, generally designated by the numeral 10, supported upon astand consisting of a pair of wire brackets, each generally designatedby the numeral 12. The game board 10 has a recessed central or iceportion 14, which is of generally curved-corner rectangularconfiguration and which is surrounded by a low peripheral wall 16. A rimportion 18 extends outwardly from about the upper edge of the peripheralwall 16 and a rectilinear skirt portion depends therefrom. As can beseen in FIG. 2, the peripheral wall 16, rim portion 18 and skirt portion20 define a downwardly opening channel 22 of generally U-shaped crosssection about the periphery of the game board 10.

Each of the brackets 12 is integrally formed and bent to provideparallel upper and lower U-shaped elements 24, 24, which areinterconnected at the ends of the legsthereof by perpendicular uprightelements 26. The brackets 12 are positioned in a mirror imagerelationship with their upright elements 26 adjacent to one another, sothat the lower elements 24 cooperatively define. a rectangular base, andthe upper elements 24 similarly define a rectangular frame. The gameboard 10 is mounted on the brackets 12 with the upper elements 24 of thelatter seated in the peripheral channel 22 about theice portion 14,thereby supporting the board 10 in an elevated position and providingsubstantially unobstructed access to the area therebeneath. To completethe game board 10 for hockey-type play, field markings are provided onthe upper surface 28 of the ice portion 14, goal net structures 30 areaffixed near each end thereof, and a scoreboard 32 is centrally mountedon the rim portion 18; the function of these features will be obvious.

With particular reference now to FIGS. 3-7, the player piece (of whichadditional variations may be provided to designate different hockey teampositions) consists of a basegenerally designated by the numeral 36,player figure insert 38, and an annular multipole magnet 34. The base 36of the player piece consists of a circular housing portion 40 having anaxially upwardly projecting, radially offset post 42 and an elongatedarm 44 which projects radially from the post 42 to a distance wellbeyond the housing portion 40. The arm 44 and the post 42 have upwardlyopening slots 46, 48 formed therein which seat the player figure 38(depicting a hockey player in this embodiment). Normally, frictionalengagement will suffice to secure the insert 38 in the base 36 to permitfacile replacement thereof, although adhesives and the like may be usedif so desired to provide more permanent engagement. A wing element 50 isprovided along the bottom edge of the arm 44 adjacent its freeend, andhas curvilinear striking surfaces 52 which diverge from one another andare of increasing curvature toward the free end of the arm 44. Thecurvilinear striking surfaces 52 serve to deflect the puck 54 (shown inFIG. 1) and to afford directional control therefor. Although they arenot completely visible, it can be seen in FIG. 5 that the controlsurfaces 52 are present on both sides of the am 44 to facilitatestriking the puck by pivoting the player piece 36 in either direction.

As is seen in FIG. 6, the circular housing 40 provides a downwardlyopening annular recess 56 in which the magnet 34 is mounted about acentral stud 58, such as by frictional engagement or adhesive bonding.The stud 58 has a rounded tip portion 60 which projects below the loweredge 37 of the sidewall of the housing 40 and magnet 34 to provide apivot point of limited surface contact.

The hand-held control member, generally designated by the numeral 62,consists of a generally annular housing portion 64 providing a generallycircular recess 66 with a multiplicity of axially extending ribs 68spaced thereabout, and an axially extending stem or handle portion 70.An annular multipole magnet 34 is seated within the recess 66 and isfrictionally engaged by the ribs 68. The housing portion 64 may be sodimensioned that its circumferential lip 72 is elevated slightly abovethe exposed surface of the magnet 34 to render the lip 72 the effectivecontact surface for the control member 62 (as is seen in FIG. 2). Thiswill normally facilitate sliding of the control 62 over the bottomsurface 74, and will protect the magnet 34 thereof against thedemagnetizing effect of frictional contact, no matter how rough orsmooth the surface 74 may be.

In FIG. 7, the annular magnet 34 bears N" and S notations thereon, withthe dotted lines suggesting the limits of four areas of generallydiscrete polarity; it will be appreciated that these markings on themagnet are merely for the purpose of illustration.

Due to the disposition of the regions of polarity in the magnets 34, twopositions of repulsion and two positions of attraction exist within the360 of rotation of the player piece 36 relative to the control member62. Thus, pivoting the player piece 36 through an angle of about fromthe position of FIG. 3 to that of FIG. 4 causes the magnetic effect tochange from one of attraction to one of repulsion. Accordingly, use ofthe multipole magnets not only increases the strength of the magneticinteraction between the player piece 36 and control member 62, but italso increases the number of relative positions thereof at whichcoupling will occur. Strengthening the interaction greatly enhances theeffectiveness wtih which abrupt rotational moments may be transmitted tothe player piece 36 and thereby the effectiveness of shooting by abrupttwisiting or twirling of the contact member 62; furthermore, undesirabledisorientation or rotation of a stationary player piece 36 upon initialinteraction with a control member 62 will also be minimized as a resultof the increased number of coupling positions thereabout. In view ofthese factors, it will be appreciated that the presence of more thanfour regions of different polarity in each of the magnets may affordadditional benefits. The magnets will normally be of a sintered powderconstruction, although cast metallic magnets may also be employed. If sodesired, the magnets may utilize spaced pole pieces to isolate andconcentrate the magnetic fields of each of the regions, and to therebyincrease the overall field strength of the magnet.

As regards the construction of the game board member, attachments andpieces used therewith, and of the player pieces and control members(other than the magnets), the configuration and material employed mayvary considerably and variations will be quite apparent to those Skilledin the art. The playing portion of the game board should be constructedof a nonferrous material permitting the magnetic flux lines to passtherethrough, and should be of a thickness providing strength withoutundue attenuation of the magnetic forces.

To a large degree, design features will be dictated by the type of gamethat is to be simulated by the apparatus and, although a hockey gameembodiment has been illustrated and specifically described herein, itwill be appreciated that the present concept is not limited thereto andmay be applied equally well to baseball as well as to other types oftable games in which it is desired to produce pivotal or slidingmovement of a piece by magnetic coupling.

Plastic construction may be used advantageously for many of the parts ofthe apparatus because it is economical and practical from amanufacturing standpoint; furthermore, the parts produced therefrom arenonferrous and therefore unaffected by the magnets of the player piecesand control members. By way of example, suitable materials broadlyinclude the thermosetting resins, which may be of the phenolformaldehydetype, and the thermoplastic resins such as the polycarbonates,long-chain polyamides, polyesters (e.g., polyethylene terephthalateresins), polyolefins (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.), vinyland vinylidene resins (e.g., polystyrene, polyvinylchloride,styrene/acrylonitrile copolymers, high impact polystyrene, etc.), andthe like. The playing portion of the game board memberis desirablyfabricated from a cellulosic product such as fiberboard or from asuitable synthetic resinous material of the type listed hereinbefore;the entire game board member illustrated may conveniently and.relatively inexpensively be provided as a one-piece, integrally formedunit of a molded thermoplastic. Aside from the player inserts, which aredesirably but not necessarily made of printed sheet-metal, and the partsof the support stand, which are conveniently, but again, not necessarilyproduced from relatively heavy gauge wire stock, the remaining portionsof the apparatus may most appropriately also be of plastic construction.

Established rules and regulations, such as those of the National HockeyLeague, may be applied or modified as appropriate to control procedureof play. in the case of thehockey game, each of the two participantswill normally be'provided. withtwocontrol members for the manipulationof three players. constituting his team, one player being characterizedas a goalie and the other two as forwards.

Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides a novel gameapparatus in which the playing pieces may be moved rapidly along theplaying area and sharply pivoted thereon by appropriate manipulation ofa control member therebeneath. 'Rotation of a stationary playing pieceupon initial interaction with a magnetic control member is minimized,and the apparatus is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufactureand yet relatively durable to provide a long useful life.

I claim:

1. In a game apparatus, the combination comprising: a game board havinga relatively thin, substantially planar playing portion fabricated of anonferrous material and having means on the upper surface thereofdefining a playing area; a player piece slidably seated upon said uppersurface of said playing portion and having a base portion, a strikingportion extending laterally outwardly from said base portion along saidplaying portion of said game board and in contact with said uppersurface thereof, said striking portion of said player piece comprisingan elongated arm extending laterally along said upper surface of saidplaying portion from said base portion and having a flared configurationadjacent its free end provided by wing portions which extend outwardlyfrom each side of said arm along said upper surface and which havecurvilinear striking sur-v faces thereon, said striking surfacesdiverging from one another and increasing in curvature toward said freeend to control the direction of an object propelled thereby during playof the game, and a multipole permanent magnet having at least fouralternating regions of opposite polarity disposed in said base portionwith magnetic flux lines from each of said regions intersecting theplane of the upper surface of said game board in a direction generallynormal thereto, said magnet of said player piece being of annularconfiguration and said base portion having a depending stud thereonprojecting downwardly through the central aperture of said annularmagnet and therebelow, said stud having an end of relatively smallsurface area and spacing the body of said player piece from said uppersurface of the board to provide limited contact therewith, said playerpiece being supported upon said stud and said striking portion; and'acontrol member slidably movable along the bottom surface of said playingportion, said control member comprising a handle element and'a multipolepermanent magnet having at least four alternating regions of oppositepolarity disposed in said handle element with magnetic flux lines fromeach of said regions intersecting said bottom surface in a directiongenerally normal thereto, the flux lines of said magnets of said contactmember and player piece extending through said game board playingportion and alignable to provide firm magnetic interengagement of theseveral opposite poles thereof, said control member being slidablebeneath said playing portion to move said player piece therealong andbeing pivotable sharply to produce sharp pivoting of said player pieceupon said upper surface, said magnets of said player pieces and controlmembers both being of generally circular cross section with saidalternating regions of polarity being positioned circumferentiallythereabout and with the axes of said magnets being perpendicular to saidplay ing portion.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein there is included support meansextending downwardly from said game board member for elevating said gameboard member above a planar support surface and affording substantiallyunobstructed access to the bottom surface of said playing portion.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said game board member isfabricated of a synthetic thermoplastic resinous material.

4. In a game apparatus, the combination comprising: a game board havingsubstantially planar playing portion and having means on the uppersurfacethereof defining a playing area; a player piece slidably seatedupon said upper surface of said playing portion and having a baseportion and a striking portion extending laterally along said playingportion of said game board, said striking portion of said player piececomprising an elongated arm extending laterally along said upper surfaceof said playing portion from said base portion and having a flaredconfiguration adjacent its free end provided by wing portions whichextend outwardly from each side of said arm along said upper surface andwhich have curvilinear striking surfaces thereon, said striking surfacesdiverging from one another and increasing in curvature toward said freeend to control the direction of an object propelled thereby during playof the game; an object to be propelled on said board upper surface andfreely slidable therealong; and means for sharply pivoting said playerpiece to cause said striking portion to propel said object in acontrolled direction.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said playing area defining meanson said playing portion simulates hockey ice and includes a pair of goalstructures at opposite ends of said ice to serve as targets for a puckmember, wherein said player piece represents a hockey player and saidstriking portion thereof represents the blade of a hockey stick, andwherein said object is a disk-shaped puck member freely slidable uponsaid upper surface by propulsion through said blade, sharp pivoting ofsaid hockey player being for the purpose of propelling said puck memberover said ice as in a hockey shot.

1. In a game apparatus, the combination comprising: a game board havinga relatively thin, substantially planar playing portion fabricated of anonferrous material and having means on the upper surface thereofdefining a playing area; a player piece slidably seated upon said uppersurface of said playing portion and having a base portion, a strikingportion extending laterally outwardly from said base portion along saidplaying portion of said game board and in contact with said uppersurface thereof, said striking portion of said player piece comprisingan elongated arm extending laterally along said upper surface of saidplaying portion from said base portion and having a flared configurationadjacent its free end provided by wing portions which extend outwardlyfrom each side of said arm along said upper surface and which havecurvilinear striking surfaces thereon, said striking surfaces divergingfrom one another and increasing in curvature toward said free end tocontrol the direCtion of an object propelled thereby during play of thegame, and a multipole permanent magnet having at least four alternatingregions of opposite polarity disposed in said base portion with magneticflux lines from each of said regions intersecting the plane of the uppersurface of said game board in a direction generally normal thereto, saidmagnet of said player piece being of annular configuration and said baseportion having a depending stud thereon projecting downwardly throughthe central aperture of said annular magnet and therebelow, said studhaving an end of relatively small surface area and spacing the body ofsaid player piece from said upper surface of the board to providelimited contact therewith, said player piece being supported upon saidstud and said striking portion; and a control member slidably movablealong the bottom surface of said playing portion, said control membercomprising a handle element and a multipole permanent magnet having atleast four alternating regions of opposite polarity disposed in saidhandle element with magnetic flux lines from each of said regionsintersecting said bottom surface in a direction generally normalthereto, the flux lines of said magnets of said contact member andplayer piece extending through said game board playing portion andalignable to provide firm magnetic interengagement of the severalopposite poles thereof, said control member being slidable beneath saidplaying portion to move said player piece therealong and being pivotablesharply to produce sharp pivoting of said player piece upon said uppersurface, said magnets of said player pieces and control members bothbeing of generally circular cross section with said alternating regionsof polarity being positioned circumferentially thereabout and with theaxes of said magnets being perpendicular to said playing portion.
 2. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein there is included support means extendingdownwardly from said game board member for elevating said game boardmember above a planar support surface and affording substantiallyunobstructed access to the bottom surface of said playing portion. 3.The combination of claim 1 wherein said game board member is fabricatedof a synthetic thermoplastic resinous material.
 4. In a game apparatus,the combination comprising: a game board having substantially planarplaying portion and having means on the upper surface thereof defining aplaying area; a player piece slidably seated upon said upper surface ofsaid playing portion and having a base portion and a striking portionextending laterally along said playing portion of said game board, saidstriking portion of said player piece comprising an elongated armextending laterally along said upper surface of said playing portionfrom said base portion and having a flared configuration adjacent itsfree end provided by wing portions which extend outwardly from each sideof said arm along said upper surface and which have curvilinear strikingsurfaces thereon, said striking surfaces diverging from one another andincreasing in curvature toward said free end to control the direction ofan object propelled thereby during play of the game; an object to bepropelled on said board upper surface and freely slidable therealong;and means for sharply pivoting said player piece to cause said strikingportion to propel said object in a controlled direction.
 5. Thecombination of claim 4 wherein said playing area defining means on saidplaying portion simulates hockey ice and includes a pair of goalstructures at opposite ends of said ice to serve as targets for a puckmember, wherein said player piece represents a hockey player and saidstriking portion thereof represents the blade of a hockey stick, andwherein said object is a disk-shaped puck member freely slidable uponsaid upper surface by propulsion through said blade, sharp pivoting ofsaid hockey player being for the purpose of propelling said puck memberover said ice as in a hockey shot.